“We are playing a Final to be won at all costs. I don’t care how many games are left this season, as we have to win this one because it’d be the crowning moment in a huge achievement,” said the Coach in his Press conference.

The Blucerchiati are in a very comfortable position already on 31 points in 12th place, whereas Livorno are third from bottom on 21 points.

“When I arrived here we were in penultimate place, whereas now we can get ourselves out of danger with 11 rounds left to play. We must win not only because we are ambitious. We must win because on Monday we’d start a whole new season at the level Sampdoria deserves, as this club should never be fighting against relegation.

“Since I’ve been here, we have notched up 22 points. We did better in that period than Milan, Inter and Verona. Our average points tally doubled, but it’s still not enough for me and it shouldn’t be enough for the team either. We’ve got to keep climbing and climbing.

“A victory here could open up a different campaign for us. This is why I urge the fans to fill the stadium.”

If Samp improved with a new Coach, then Livorno have also stepped up several gears since Domenico Di Carlo took over from Davide Nicola.

“Livorno can cause us problems, which I’ve been saying to my players over and over this week. With Di Carlo’s arrival they have changed mentality.

“My lads have to be calm and concentrated. I don’t know where we could arrive, but I do know that each victory helps you to keep on winning.”

This week President EdoardoGarrone said Mihajlovic had a similar man-management style to Scudetto-winningSamp Coach VujadinBoskov.

“Boskov was like a father to me, so being compared to him is a great honour,” said the former defender.

“Boskov was also a great tactician, as he made you think that you were doing something, but in reality he was leading the play.”